One of the CW’s longest-running, most reliably extant forays into superhero shenanigans is finally ready to hang up its quiver: Variety reports that the upcoming eighth season of Arrow, expected to wrap up in 2020, will be its last.
Of course, that’s all future-Arrow’s problem, which the show will presumably cover through a series of increasingly convoluted flashbacks and -forwards. Right now, the show is still burning through its seventh season, which is largely concerned with the fallout of Oliver Queen revealing himself as Star City’s most bow-equipped vigilante, including a lengthy prison stay, and a camera crew sometimes following him around, filming him angst about stuff. That obviously gives Team Arrow plenty of time to find a proper ending point for one of TV’s most enduring superhero shows.
Of course, there are also wider implications here: For years now, the series has also served as the foundation for a whole “Arrowverse” of shows from mega-producer Greg Berlanti, all featuring TV-scale superhero action, and all (eventually) landing at the CW. Those shows, of course, will continue to persist, even if some of them—hey there, The Flash—are getting a bit long in the tooth themselves. Arrow has had a good—sometimes even a legitimately great—run, and all we ask is that nobody fucking touch Legends Of Tomorrow while they’re at it, or we swear we’ll lose our goddamn minds.